Using a gas disconnect for dispensing?

I'm bringing a keg to a party tomorrow, and I have a cobra tap with an extra gas disconnect I can hook it to. Is there any reason you can't dispense through a gas post? Otherwise, I'll have to go to the LHBS or disassemble a liquid disconnect from my kegerator.

The tube connected to the gas post is only an inch long or so. The liquid tube goes all the way to the bottom.

david_42 said:

The tube connected to the gas post is only an inch long or so. The liquid tube goes all the way to the bottom.

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I don't mean the posts though, the difference between the white and black disconnects, does it really matter?

I have only been using Pin Locks but, IIRC ball locks are similar in that the gas connect will only fit the gas post. It may not be readily apparent but, I think there is a slight variation in the post diameter on the ball lock system.

I may be wrong here. I have 9 ball lock kegs but, have never used them.

Professor Frink said:

I don't mean the posts though, the difference between the white and black disconnects, does it really matter?

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Yes it matters. The little catches on the post that accept the ball locking mechanism are slightly deeper on one than the other. They do this on purpose so you don't accidentally hook the disconnects up to the wrong post.

Now if you were to switch it out so that both the "in" and "out" posts were for gas, and both of the disconnects were for gas, then I guess it could work, but I wouldn't recommend keeping it this way because it'd be too easy to accidentally mix them up and have beer in your gas line.

Good point. I guess I'll just take the bev line off of the kegs. Thanks guys.

Speaking from personal experience, what goes on, doesn't necessarily come off. [At least without a crowbar and some lube.]

The dimensions of the IN and OUT posts on a corny keg are different. The CO2 post is .015 inch bigger. This means that if you try to put the "Black" connector (Beer OUT) on the CO2 post it will not fit over the post. If you have ever mistakenly put the posts on the wrong side you could not hook up the keg until you discovered the failure to properly assemble the keg after cleaning. The posts look different too. The CO2 post usually has a 12 point socket type of nut and/or a groove machined into the wrench flats so it is easily identifyable.